Unalienable Rights
by MoonlitMelody
Summary: Moral Dissonance: the disconnect between how one acts and how one believes he should act. A one-shot about American slavery circa 1776. Written for the Hetalia Kink Meme.


**A/N:** People that have me on story/author alert, please forgive me! I'm still working on _Authoress_, but I recently got addicted to Hetalia, and I just couldn't resist! Sorry!  
In case you don't know already, Hetalia Axis Powers (also known as Axis Powers Hetalia) is a manga/anime starring anthropomorphized countries. America, England, France, China, Italy, Germany, and many other nations each have their own characters. The manga/anime itself is very funny, but there are a lot of serious fanfics as well. Nations also have human names as well; for example, the United States of America is also known as Alfred F Jones.

This was written for the Hetalia Kink Meme: **http: /****/hetalia-kink. livejournal. com/ ?thread=32617797#t32617797** (remove spaces)  
The request was for Moral Dissonance, which is basically the same as hypocrisy. This fic focuses on slavery.

(Warnings: Un-beta'd. Includes some vulgar language, racial prejudices, and the "n word".)

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Alfred was ecstatic. When he had read the first part of Tommy's document that would separate him from the British Crown forever, he literally started bouncing off the walls. Of course, Tommy's house couldn't really handle the stress too well, so the nation was politely asked to sit and calm down.

But it was so hard to stay still and listen to the whole declaration. His people had finally decided to stop playing around the bush and declare full-on independence from England! Not that Al disliked Arthur England. He had been there for him for as long as he could remember. Hell, he had even fought with him against France not too long ago. No, the people Alfred had a problem with were the King and Parliament. Bunch of ignorant, hypocritical big-wigs, the lot of them. And England refused to disobey them, so of course they had to split. His people deserved the same freedoms as England's people, and if his brother didn't want to acknowledge that, Al would make him.

"So, what do you think?"

His companion's comment quickly snapped Alfred out of his reverie and brought his attention back to the present. "Uh…"

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you Alfred?"

"Heh, sorry Tommy, just got a lot on my mind, ya know?" The teen rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

Mr. Jefferson sighed at his nation's nickname for him, but he gave the boy a smile anyway. "Don't worry yourself so much, Alfred. Remember, we're all behind you." The man put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know…" He suddenly beamed up at his senior. "'We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor,' right?"

"So you _were_ listening!" Jefferson laughed, Al soon joining him. It had been the first time the two had really, honestly laughed in a long time.

After a few minutes in complete but companionable silence, Alfred rose from his seat. "I should be heading home now. Based on what I just heard, tomorrow's going to be a long meeting."

"Yeah, get home safe. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Oh, and here's an extra copy of the Declaration I made! You can look over it at home and see if you want to add anything." Jefferson quickly rummaged through his desk and pulled out a small parchment, handing it to Al.

"Wow! Thanks, Tommy!" With a final wave, the soon-to-be United States of America walked out into the warm, humid streets of Philadelphia.

It was already dusk by the time he finally got to his house on the other side of the city, and the teen could already feel his clothes sticking to his skin. Even in his Northern colonies, summer was not the season to go walking through the streets fully clothed.

As he walked through the doors of his foyer, a tall Negro man in his early twenties greeted him. "Mister Jones, welcome home. Supper'll be ready in ten minutes."

"Great! I'll be there soon."

"Yes, sir." The man bowed slightly, keeping his eyes to the floor as he left to finish his other chores.

"Mister Jones, there you are!" Al turned to see his German servant Markus jogging towards him from the back of the house.

"Mark, what's up? You don't look to hot." Sure enough, the man looked rather tired and tense, like he wanted to shake somebody senseless.

"That bitch Liz went out to get eggs this morning and never came back," he spat out.

Alfred's smile immediately dissolved. "Well, that's not good. Did you send James and Jonathan out to find her?"

"Of course!" the servant exclaimed.

"Then we'll just have to wait," Al replied, the smile back on his face. "I'll be eating in the dining room if you need me!" With that, the teen made his way through the house to find his nice, warm meal waiting for him on the table.

An hour later as Al was just finishing his venison, he heard a crash by the kitchen's back door. Alarmed, he left his plate and silverware on the table (_"The slaves will take care of it."_) to see what was going on. He was surprised to see James and Jonathan dragging a struggling Liz in from the garden outside.

"Bitch, stop kicking before I shove this switch up your-"

"I _know_ you're not threatening my girl in front of me, right Jonathan?"

The boy's cold tone took the man by surprise. Dropping the girl and looking up, he felt a shiver travel down his spine at the glare he was getting. "N-no, sir, wouldn't think of it," he tried to explain without stuttering.

Ignoring his servant, Alfred walked up to the girl who was sitting on the ground, held still by James, and grabbed her roughly by the chin. "Now, care to explain where you were all day?" His voice held none of the warmth with which he had addressed Jefferson or Markus.

"I…I…I just lost track of time…" she practically whispered, eyes refusing to meet his icy stare.

SMACK

"Want to try that again?" He watched as her eyes watered and her cheek glowed red.

"I'm sorry, sir. Was foolish of me, what I did. I won't do it again." She managed to mutter the words without her voice cracking, eyes still averted.

"Of course you won't." He released her chin and stood up to his full height, taking in the sight of her matted hair, her black skin, her dirt-stained dress, and her flat brown eyes. Pathetic.

"James, you take care of the lashing, I'm too tired to bother punishing a stupid nigger." Without bothering to look and see if his servant had heard him, Alfred left the kitchen, walked down the hall and went upstairs to his room. He had planned on asking Bettie or Jane to ready a bath for him after supper, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to anymore of his slaves for the rest of the night.

Why did this always happen? Every couple of months or so, one of his niggers would try to use a trip to the market as a chance to escape. It was frustrating to have to send James and Jonathan to go find them (even though they usually ended up being caught within the hour). But Liz's betrayal was surprising. She was always so quiet, never got into trouble before, always did what was asked of her. And it wasn't like Alfred starved her or anything. He _always_ took care of his slaves and servants.

The nation sighed as he plopped himself down on his queen-sized bed. _"Oh well,"_ he thought. _"Stuff happens. No reason to give myself a headache over it."_

Satisfied, he pulled out the parchment he had stowed in his pocket earlier and grinned as he unfurled it. "Now, let's see what old Tommy's gonna show those eggheads tomorrow at Congress!"

_We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness._

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Please be aware that I **do not** agree with the institution of slavery or racism in general. It is a horrible thing, and we are fortunate to live in a world where this is (hopefully) no longer the norm. I hope everyone reading this finds it acceptable. I love my country, but America can be a real ass at times.

Reviews are highly appreciated. :)


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